E-Book, Englisch, 745 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-5439-3575-2
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Chapter 1: A Little Prophecy on the North Side
Chicago, always cloudy, always cold, thought Avery, as he absently pulled the collar of his jacket a little higher. If you’re looking for beautiful blue skies then you better look somewhere else. No matter the weather though, this is going to be a great day. Traveling north on Lake Shore Drive in the Blue Bomber, his beloved Honda Civic, he started to feel a strong pounding in his chest. The sudden panic could be from the enormous check he signed before leaving on this latest adventure. It’s cold out, but I’m sweating and sweating bad. What if Jill says no? What if what I planned doesn’t meet her expectations? Am I even ready to have a Mrs. Avery Cole in my life? “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” he said to James, his best friend and the original member of his support group. “Yeah, don’t you think you two should live together first? Not that I think you’re doing the wrong thing. You’re definitely marrying up.” “I actually believe the right thing for you to say is, ‘Don’t worry Avery. You’re absolutely making the right decision and you will live happily ever after.’” “Don’t worry Avery. You’re absolutely making the right decision and you will live happily ever after,” said James mockingly with as much soaking wet sarcasm as he could muster. The conversation then moved on to a topic near and dear to James’ heart: James. James was whining about school work again and bragging about how hardcore he was for taking six classes in one term. Typical U of C measuring contest. Avery was quite happy to be taking his two classes this semester. After four years of the University of Chicago he needed a little breather. Besides, Avery felt proud of his easy schedule, like he had managed to find a hidden loophole in the system. Normally I would be listening closely to what my best friend was saying, well, at least pretending to, but the importance of the day was weighing heavily on my mind hence my constant whining. Sorry James. Maybe James is right, thought Avery, maybe I am moving too fast. I’m about to take the first step in making the biggest decision of my life. What if Jill thinks we’re moving too fast? What if she would’ve wanted to get engaged in the spring instead of the winter? Oh, god, who would ever want to get engaged in the middle of a Chicago winter? Maybe I haven’t thought this all through yet. I mean, I have no doubt that Jill is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. But Jill, like my other life mate James, is a planner. What if she wants us to be more secure first? I’m sure she wants the whole picket fence, two and half kids, and a dog. Though I should never be put in charge of kids or a dog. I love her, but we don’t even know what we’ll be doing after graduation! Avery was not listening as James continued blabbing. “You’re pretty lucky, you know. I mean look at Jill, and then look at you. Damn lucky.” “Thanks for the vote of confidence! Makes me feel all nice and toasty inside. A real hallmark moment to tell the grandkids. I know I’m lucky. I love her and things are great. I’m just thinking about how much things are going to change. You’re going to St. Louis for that consulting job and I’m hopefully going to grad school.” “It’s about time we grew up, Avery. Aren’t you sick of living in tiny dorm rooms full of roaches and noise, with no privacy whatsoever. Some responsibility could be good for you anyway. Can’t keep wearing torn jackets and mostly clean shirts forever. There’s a whole world out there bigger then these sheltered walls you know.” The Blue Bomber and its crew finally pulled off onto Madison and Avery began scanning the road for a parking spot. He luckily found an open street spot under the L tracks on the left side of the street. Parking karma, my super power. “Damn, I hate parking on the left,” said Avery. “I’ll do it if you can’t.” “No, no, I got it. I just hope the ring’s ready. I made the restaurant reservations for next week.” “You left just one week for the ring!! Don’t you know that these things could take weeks?” Avery begrudgingly agreed with his friend. James is right. I screwed up. Maybe I’m just scared to take that last step? No, too easy of an answer. All I know is that I can’t even bear the thought of living my life without Jill. She’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thought I have before falling asleep. Damn, I should have brought a warmer jacket, thought Avery, but I refuse to let Chicago win this one. Avery and James entered the small jewelry store and walked up to the only section of the jewelry cases not full of browsing patrons. “Man, I hope the ring will come out all right. I knew I should have put off booking the restaurant. How am I going to keep this from her? If I ruin the surprise she’ll never forgive me! And I suck at keeping secrets!” “RELAX! I can’t take this anymore! You’re driving me crazy! The ring will be coming down those stairs, it will be ready, and you and Jill will be living happily ever after in no time. Trust me.” A store clerk finally noticed Avery and James waiting somewhat patiently at one of the jewelry cases. Avery hadn’t seen this particular clerk before and the way he was looking at Avery’s worn jacket and jeans, he clearly didn’t think Avery had any business being there. After failing to garner the attention of the clerk, Avery finally noticed the salesman who had originally sold him the ring. “Mr. Cole, you cut it pretty close but, as I promised, we made the deadline.” The salesman then opened the small deep blue box to reveal a ring inside with one solitary diamond. “A beautiful choice, sir. Of course, your young lady would find any ring you give her special.” Finally, holding that ring in his hand made him feel more confident and excited then he had felt in days. Who says procrastinators never win? “Thanks. It just feels right,” said Avery. And it did. It really did, thought Avery. If I get just one thing right in my life let it be this, because, to be honest, I seem to be completely failing at everything else. James says I just have a fear of failure that prevents me from giving anything my all. I think it’s just a healthy belief in my own weaknesses and their ability to completely undercut anything I do. Not with Jill though. I knew when I first saw her in Calculus 510 that if I didn’t act now she would be gone and I would always regret it. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like without her and I don’t like the picture I see. Avery then handed over the most expensive check he had ever seen. As soon as the check left his hand Avery felt like his body had decided that breathing should be an optional choice at best and he would collapse right there on the carpeted floor of the store. Luckily, James was on hand to do what he did best, kick me into action. As the two friends walked out of the store, Avery couldn’t keep his hand from gliding back down to the little box in his pocket. As his hands glided along the engraved designs on the box Avery couldn’t help but think how much hope resided in one little box. “Oh god, what the hell are you worried about now?” James asked. “I just thought… What if she says no?” “She won’t. Have some faith, Avery. The kind of happiness you guys have always turns out right. It’s a done deal.” So that’s why I keep him around, thought Avery. Once the duo were back in the car, Avery realized that his future best man hadn’t committed to the celebration party tonight. “So are you finally going to take a night off from studying and come out to the pub?” “I…can’t…I have something important to do. You know, make sure everything gets shipped out okay. Last time my trunk arrived home with an enormous hole in it and ruined all my stuff. If I get done early, I’ll stop in for a while. I promise.” As the friends headed back southside on Lake Shore Drive, Avery stole a glance at the exhibit banners covering the outside of the Field Museum. They were adorned with a Celtic cross and advertised the opening of a Celtic history exhibit in a few weeks. As much as Avery might want to check out the new exhibit, he hoped that when it opened, he and Jill would be far too busy planning a wedding in her hometown of Boston to find time to go. I’m really going to miss this city, thought Avery. Jill will probably drag us to New England permanently, which was okay. The few times Avery had been to Boston to visit Jill’s family he had enjoyed it. I guess I can only live in a city with a cursed baseball team. Who knew? Avery noticed James suddenly jolt upright in his seat as if he had forgotten something important. “You mind if we make a quick stop on the north side? I just realized I needed to pick up something.” “Come on! That’s completely in the opposite direction. It better be quick. I don’t like the idea of walking around with a big diamond ring in my pocket. I may as well have a big ROB ME sign plastered on my chest. Where do you want to go that can’t wait ‘til tomorrow?” “Just a small shop. There’s a book I need for my thesis that they only have at this store. Old manuscript, pretty cool...
